Song of Lazarus

The Song of Lazarus
Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.” John 11:35,36
He called. I returned.
What else could I do?
Though hard it was, and dark
to take up flesh I’d left,
I did not think to blame.

He called. I came forth.
What else could I do,
though hard it was to walk
all swaddled like a babe?
I heard him speak my name.

The crowd shrank away.
What else could they do?
He grew so pale and still.
I think I heard him say,
“What was it like to die?”

My heart overturned.
What words could I say,
when God within my friend
should undertake to die
in agony and spurned?

I let him go on.
What else could I do?
But when he lay entombed,
my prayers accompanied him.
When he arose, I knew.

I’ll follow him still.
What else can I do?
In life or into death –
it matters not to me.
In both, I trust his love.
          Barbara Messner circa 2000